The Distraction Index

@sgharlow
25 Followers
23 Following
230 Posts

The Distraction Index publishes a frozen, immutable weekly record of U.S. political events scored on two independent axes:

๐Ÿ”ด A-Score: Constitutional damage (governance harm, reversibility, precedent)
๐ŸŸ  B-Score: Distraction/Hype (media amplification, strategic manipulation)

When damage is high but coverage is low, that's a red flag.

59+ weeks of data ยท 1,500+ scored events ยท 210+ smokescreen pairs detected

Independent ยท Ad-free ยท Open source
Created by @sgharlow

Websitehttps://distractionindex.org
GitHubhttps://github.com/sgharlow/distraction
Methodologyhttps://distractionindex.org/methodology
Weekly Reporthttps://distractionindex.org/week/current

Tracking: cultural institutions, federal facilities, resource allocation

"Kennedy Center Closure for Renovations" scored 2.2/100 for constitutional damage this week.

The Distraction Index monitors 29+ events weekly across dozens of policy areas.

https://distractionindex.org/week/2026-06-21

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

Week 78: Jun 21 โ€“ Jun 27, 2026 (Live) | The Distraction Index

The Distraction Index for Jun 21 โ€“ Jun 27, 2026. Live updates throughout the week. Tracking democratic damage vs. manufactured distractions.

Week of 2026-06-21 by the numbers:

29 political events tracked
Avg. constitutional damage: 15/100
Avg. distraction score: 46/100
3 high-damage events
22 high-distraction events

Data doesn't lie. https://distractionindex.org/week/2026-06-21

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

Week 78: Jun 21 โ€“ Jun 27, 2026 (Live) | The Distraction Index

The Distraction Index for Jun 21 โ€“ Jun 27, 2026. Live updates throughout the week. Tracking democratic damage vs. manufactured distractions.

Event spotlight: "Executive Order Restricting Vote-by-Mail"

Constitutional damage: 100/100
Distraction score: 43.3/100

Getting attention, but is it the right kind?

https://distractionindex.org/event/981ee890-2c51-40a6-a1a5-5e324dde691d

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

Executive Order Restricting Vote-by-Mail

Trump signed an executive order restricting vote-by-mail voting. This action directly affects election administration and voting access mechanisms at the federal level.

The Distraction Index

This week's Distraction Index (2026-06-21):

29 events scored.

Highest constitutional damage: "Executive Order Restricting Vote-by-Mail" (100/100)

Top distraction: "Record High Deportations Under Trump Administration" (76.3/100)

Full report: https://distractionindex.org/week/2026-06-21

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

Week 78: Jun 21 โ€“ Jun 27, 2026 (Live) | The Distraction Index

The Distraction Index for Jun 21 โ€“ Jun 27, 2026. Live updates throughout the week. Tracking democratic damage vs. manufactured distractions.

In 60+ weeks of tracking the Distraction Index, we've scored 1,500+ political events on two axes:

๐Ÿ”ด Constitutional damage (real governance harm)
๐ŸŸ  Distraction/Hype (media amplification)

When damage is high but coverage is low โ€” that's the pattern we exist to expose.

https://distractionindex.org

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

The Distraction Index

Weekly civic intelligence report tracking democratic damage vs. manufactured distractions. See through the noise.

The Distraction Index

Smokescreen alert:

While "Record High Deportations Under Trump Administration" dominated headlines (distraction: 76.3/100)...

"U.S. Military Presence Continues at Mexico Border" flew under the radar (damage: 32.8/100, coverage: 30.5/100).

This is the pattern. https://distractionindex.org/smokescreen

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

Smokescreen Map โ€” Week 78 | The Distraction Index

Week 78 Smokescreen Map: distraction-to-damage pairings with displacement evidence. See which distractions are covering for real democratic damage.

Week-over-week Distraction Index:

Avg. constitutional damage: DOWN 4 points (19 โ†’ 15)
Events tracked: 45 โ†’ 29
High-damage events: 8 โ†’ 3

Trend matters. https://distractionindex.org/week/2026-06-21

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

Week 78: Jun 21 โ€“ Jun 27, 2026 (Live) | The Distraction Index

The Distraction Index for Jun 21 โ€“ Jun 27, 2026. Live updates throughout the week. Tracking democratic damage vs. manufactured distractions.

In 60+ weeks of tracking the Distraction Index, we've scored 1,500+ political events on two axes:

๐Ÿ”ด Constitutional damage (real governance harm)
๐ŸŸ  Distraction/Hype (media amplification)

When damage is high but coverage is low โ€” that's the pattern we exist to expose.

https://distractionindex.org

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

The Distraction Index

Weekly civic intelligence report tracking democratic damage vs. manufactured distractions. See through the noise.

The Distraction Index

Smokescreen pair spotted:

Distraction: "Supreme Court Rulings on Birthright Citizenship" (hype: 65.5/100)
Buried: "Executive Order Restricting Vote-by-Mail" (damage: 100/100)

One dominated your feed. The other actually mattered.

https://distractionindex.org/smokescreen

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

Smokescreen Map โ€” Week 78 | The Distraction Index

Week 78 Smokescreen Map: distraction-to-damage pairings with displacement evidence. See which distractions are covering for real democratic damage.

This week's Distraction Index (2026-06-21):

29 events scored.

Highest constitutional damage: "Executive Order Restricting Vote-by-Mail" (100/100)

Top distraction: "Record High Deportations Under Trump Administration" (76.3/100)

Full report: https://distractionindex.org/week/2026-06-21

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

Week 78: Jun 21 โ€“ Jun 27, 2026 (Live) | The Distraction Index

The Distraction Index for Jun 21 โ€“ Jun 27, 2026. Live updates throughout the week. Tracking democratic damage vs. manufactured distractions.